I just went back to the obituary page, with photos, but it's gone except for the movie:
http://brownwynne.mem.com/movie/MovingMemories.asp?ID=1581967&mm=0 which, if I recall, is most of the photos in a movie format. There was a big black dog, like a rottweiler, in the photos. Maybe someone else remembers the breed of dog. It looks pretty serious as a watchdog. There's a picture of a little girl with the big dog and I just assumed it was Cassidy. That dog should have deterred a thief or been injured in the scuffle.
At the very least, the dog should have warned Michelle to get the phone and be ready to call the police.